Javelin Broderick - Three Races in and Counting

Well I am three races into my AMA Pro Racing career and it’s been pretty interesting so far.

We were a little intimidated going into the first round at Daytona not knowing what everyone would be like and how things would work. It was rough for the first couple of races, but now things seem to be settling down so we can get to business. The staff of the AMA Pro Racing organization are really helpful to us newbies as we get ourselves sorted out.

The first three races were a lot of work for me and the team. We have no data to draw from at all being a new team and I have never even seen the tracks we have raced on prior to rolling in for the AMA Pro Racing weekend. It’s pretty crazy knowing that I have only 50 minutes at best to learn the track and get up to speed. The first two rounds we got a 50 minute practice and then a 40 minute Q1 but at the last round in Infineon that Q1 was split in half to accommodate over 50 machines in the interest of safety. This means even less time to learn the track and get competitive, but I believe that no matter what happens, the ability to be able to learn a track quickly will only help me in my pro career. Ben Spies didn’t seem to worry about it when he raced and won the championship in his first year of WSBK and he was in the same situation that I am. Definitely a motivator for me.

I seem to be able to comfortably slot into a midpack starting position, but I know there is a lot more I can do with more practice time. So far after three rounds, I have not gone backwards and I usually pick up 6-10 positions during the race against people who were faster in qualifying. The battles have been great in some races as I always seem to have someone in front of me to challenge. I like not having a lonely race and so far they have not been. Brakes have been my strength so far with most of my passes being under brakes going into corners. I feel confident with my Galfer brakes and the Dunlop tires work really well even when pushed hard…………….. well ok, I did highside in practice at Infineon but you got to take your lumps here and there.

The next race for the team is Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. This is very exciting for us because it marks the first track on the calendar that I have experience on. It feels good to know I am heading in with my first order of business to figure out how to go fast and not which way to turn……lol. The Dynojet / ZAG Racing team is working hard even now getting my Yamaha R6’s prepared for this race which has the added drama of being in very high elevation on a track that needs to flow very fast. We lose horsepower because of the thinner air and the Dynojet guys are going to do their best to give that horsepower back to me. The other exciting part of Miller is that we will be racing on the same weekend as WSBK. This means that there will be an international audience and a huge number of foreign teams there to race and maybe get some time to see all of us young racers do our thing. That’s an exciting thing to think about.

I want to thank all of our sponsors for the amazing help so far this season. We are confident going forward that we can get ourselves into the top 10 which was my goal at the beginning of the year. I am coming to grips with these new tracks and every time we race one, I get better at figuring it out quickly. Having Laguna Seca and Barber Motorsports Park still ahead of me is cool because I have been on those tracks before too. Not much time at all but at least I know the elevation changes and the layout. Everything else will just have to come to me.

Big thanks to Dynojet, Diablo Racing Technology, Sport Rider Magazine and Track Tactics for their huge support in our effort this year. See you all at Miller!!